


Just For Tonight

by BigBadWolfe



Category: The Worst Witch (TV 2017), The Worst Witch - All Media Types
Genre: F/F, Fluff and Angst, Sharing a Bath, also tw for anxiety mention, well it's mostly fluff but with some angsty stressed out Ada in between
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-19
Updated: 2018-01-19
Packaged: 2019-03-06 19:55:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,350
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13418502
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BigBadWolfe/pseuds/BigBadWolfe
Summary: "Though Hecate knew she couldn’t repair the castle, couldn’t draw the dark magic from the bricks with just a flick of her wrist, she could look after its Headmistress."(or the one where Hecate and Ada share a bath after the week from hell).





	Just For Tonight

**Author's Note:**

  * For [cassiopeiasara](https://archiveofourown.org/users/cassiopeiasara/gifts).



> Well oh my deary me this spiralled out of control alarmingly quickly! This is for the very best person I know @cassiopeiasara because she's brilliant and inspired me to write this fic! There is lots of fluff, and Hecate looking after Ada. All mistakes are my own stupid fault because I don't have a beta! Hopefully you might enjoy!

Hecate popped open the clasp of her time piece and watched it tirelessly tick ever closer to nine. She ran her thumb over the face of it as though she could stop the relentless march, could give Ada a handful of spare minutes to collect herself, but instead sighed resignedly before leaning back in her chair. It seemed as though Ada wouldn’t be making an appearance at breakfast – again.

Restlessly she wound the chain around her finger, watched the girls go about their breakfast routine, all of them animated and bright eyed, seemingly unbothered by the dramatics the first week had held. She glanced briefly to her left, and then to her right, surveying what little of the staff had made it down to breakfast. Unsurprisingly Miss Bat was there, peeling an apple just so, its skin winding down in an unbroken spiral onto her lap. Next to her Dimity was pouring herself another cup of coffee, uncharacteristically forgoing the milk and drinking it down black, having headed yet another search for the stone the night before. Otherwise, the table was empty. Hecate felt Ada’s absence as keenly as if she were missing some part of herself, ached like she was being cleaved open. It was unsettling to have a decade’s old routine broken once again, in the same week no less, and it set her already spiralling anxiety racing faster around her mind. Her thoughts strayed dangerously, unwelcome but unavoidable as she considered Ada’s absence; mind ricocheting at a frantic pace, bouncing from Ada in danger, to her being too downcast to show her face, to her taken by dark and isolating thoughts to-

Hecate burned her tongue as she took a hasty drink from her teacup. It would do no good to think that way. Once more she turned her attention back to the girls, almost envying their naivety, the way they had been so easily convinced by Ada’s promise of security, had fallen quiet beneath her soft assurances without question. Not once did they see, nor even consider, that their headmistress was winding herself into tighter and tighter knots beneath her pristine façade. Ada was constantly keeping up appearances in front of the girls, a feat of boundless strength in the face of such adversity, her smile drawn wide to hide the cracks in her stature - forever insistent the girls should not be burdened by the fear of something they had no control over. Hecate only wished that she would drop that tiresome façade around her, would let her see what she already knew lay beneath; a woman in turmoil, trapped in the fear of her own failure and scared for the uncertain future of Cackles. But she stayed out of reach, skipped breakfast and barely stayed for dinner before throwing herself back into the search for the stone and the slow rebuild of the school.

Hecate’s fingers strayed back to the chain at her neck, tightened around it until she held it in her closed fist. The girls chattering grew louder, buzzed in her ears like static, a tide of noise that only served to heighten her anxiety. They were all so calm, so unaffected. She wished she could be that way – wished it more so for Ada, hated to see her so harrowed, so taut and tired with the burden of her stresses. She felt Ada’s pain as harshly as if it were her own. She’d always felt like she saw too much, felt too keenly the magnitude of other people emotions, of their tangled problems and dark fears. What other people assumed to be callous coldness was in fact her way of keeping herself at arm’s length, stopping herself from tumbling too deep into the well of traitorous second hand emotion. But selfishness had never gotten anyone very far and Hecate knew that if she could, she would take every last fear darkened thought from Ada and lock them away inside of herself so that Ada wouldn’t have to feel the burden of uncertainty; would never again have to wake to tears streaking down her face, lost to hopelessness, to feeling so small in a world that was unforgivingly large.

Hecate bit back the sudden overwhelming urge to transfer to wherever Ada was and beg her to spill the contents of mind, to let her take the brunt and the bruise of her stress. Instead she focused on the group of first years to her left.

“I wonder if this missing Founding Stone is like a big game of hide and seek?”

“And if you find it, you get a prize!”

A round of giggles interspersed their conversation and Hecate looked away, stricken. They were so blithely unaware, so innocent and young that Hecate ached, knowing that all the girls shared an unspoken agreement that the start of term had simply begun with a myriad of hiccups that would soon resolve themselves. But those so called _hiccups_ sounded like the first rumbles of thunder in Hecate’s mind, growing louder and louder as the inevitable storm of repercussions approached Cackles with unwavering ferocity. Whilst she could withstand it, would fight through until dawn broke on the other side, she feared the toll it would take on their Headmistress; had already seen how it had made Ada bow to its unforgiving hand. Not for a moment did she question Ada’s strength for she knew only too well that Ada would give everything she was for the continued existence of the school, but rather feared what that deep seated loyalty would wreak upon her. Already she had watched (for she always watched Ada, every nuance, every look, every glorious intonation) as Ada had crumbled from the moment the East Wing had fallen. It was as though Ada was one with the very structure of the school and as it grew fragile, struck by the weight of its past and the lingering aftereffects of Agatha’s brief but catastrophic interlude, so did Ada. She was as stressed as the brickwork, holding up far more than its fair share of the castle, strung taut and tired and in desperate need of a helping hand.

Though Hecate knew she couldn’t repair the castle, couldn’t draw the dark magic from the bricks with just a flick of her wrist, she could look after its Headmistress. She could, even if it were just for an evening, fill in the empty parts until Ada was whole once more. A plan sprung sudden and bright in her mind, spurred on by her need to help Ada unwind, to ensure she didn’t give way beneath the weight of her duties. The bell for the start of lessons rang out sharply and Hecate jolted as the girls stood and started to file out of the room, their endless chatter flooding out with them. Waving her hand to clear away the tables, Hecate caught sight of Dimity heading for the doors that led to the grounds. Making up her mind in an instant she twisted her wrist and transferred in front of her, stopping Dimity from disappearing into the throng.

“Fu-“

Hecate raised an eyebrow with a pointed glare.

“Fumbled broomsticks, HB. You were literally about ten feet behind me,” Dimity gestured over her shoulder with her thumb, still scowling. “Can’t you just walk like a normal person, or are you actively seeking to give me a heart attack?”

Rolling her eyes rather than answering, Hecate took Dimity by the elbow and led her into an empty corridor, one which led to the now out of bounds East Wing. Waiting for the noise to diminish, Hecate took a quick look around them and, when fully assured there were no unwelcome eavesdroppers, went to begin her hastily planned persuasion; stopped jarringly as Dimity crossed her arms and huffed, looking far more disgruntled than Hecate had expected. Perhaps Ada wasn’t the only one to feel the strain of the week.

“If you’re about to give me a dressing down for still not finding the stone, I would like to point out that you, in all your high and mighty skill, haven’t found it yet either. I’ve already told Ada –“

“No. No this isn’t about the stone. Though thank you for pointing out my failure, _again_.” Hecate pinched the bridge of her nose, “I was actually hoping to ask a favour.”

“Blimey, a favour and not a demand huh?” Dimity uncrossed her arms with a smirk, one which Hecate knew only too well. “You wouldn’t happen to be going soft, would you HB? I’ve heard a rumour going around that that could be the case, and a very nice new nickname to go along with it, Miss _Softbroom_.”

Hecate arched an eyebrow but bit back the scathing retort that lay on the tip of her tongue. “I was rather hoping I could ask you to take over the rounds tonight?”

“By myself? It’ll take me – “

“Feel free to ask Divina as well, or Algernon if you’d prefer. I would,” Hecate fixed her with a pleading look, or as near as she could get to one, after all she still had some reputation to uphold, “greatly appreciate it.”

“Oh I get it,” she drawled with a grin, going to nudge Hecate in the side with her elbow. “You want some alone time with _Ada_.”

Hecate side stepped away from her unwieldly elbow which only made Dimity’s grin wider.

“Would you please take your mind out of the gutter for once, Drill?” She sighed. “But I suppose you’re not entirely wrong. It’s been a trying week for all of us, but Ada –“

Dimity’s face softened suddenly, a sad smile playing at her lips, an expression Hecate wasn’t used to seeing on her colleague’s usually jovial face.

“I know. She seems rather crestfallen, doesn’t she? I saw her say no to dessert yesterday – and that never happens. Especially when its cheesecake.” Dimity’s hand hovered over Hecate’s shoulder for a moment, before settling to give her a quick pat. “Say no more. Go and see to her, I’ve got things covered tonight.”

Hecate nodded gratefully, too taken aback to say anything. She was so used to their interactions descending into a series of snide comments and bitten back curses that it took Hecate a moment to remember that behind all the antagonism, Dimity was a very understanding woman – a good friend even.

“Just – just make sure she knows we’re all behind her, yeah?” Dimity scuffed the toe of her trainer over the tiles in an uncharacteristic show of shyness. “Because I for one miss her smile.”

“Me too,” Hecate said sadly, chest tightening as she sought to remember the last proper smile Ada had worn since the first day of term. “I’ll relay your well wishes.” She turned to leave, but thought the better of it. “Thank you, Dimity.”

“It’s quite alright,” Dimity pressed her lips into a line but her grin crept through almost immediately, “Miss _Softbroom_.”

“Oh for goodness sakes,” Hecate huffed, transferring away to the sound of Dimity’s persistent laugh.

…

The day turned out to be a blessedly quiet one, the only incident happening in her first year potions class where Tabitha Willow accidentally poured an entire vial of _enlarging potion_ over her snail after a violent chain of sneezes. It was undone with just a turn of her wrist, and the sad wistful thought of if only all things were so easily fixed.

When dinner came around Hecate was almost trembling with her need to see Ada, practically melted in relief when she finally caught sight of her sat at the head of the table. As nonchalantly as she could manage, Hecate slid into place on Ada’s left, offered her a smile in greeting that was only briefly returned before Ada turned back to her practically untouched dinner. Hecate’s fingers clenched below the table, wanting to reach out, wanting to comfort, but knew that prying eyes were watching. Her fingernails bit crescents into her palm, the sting of it outweighed by the sudden heavy lump in Hecate’s throat.

As the meal went on, Hecate berating herself for being so nervous to suggest a simple evening spent alone with her girlfriend, she finally gathered up her courage. Assured that the girls were consumed by their conversations, Hecate shifted slightly towards Ada, angling herself just so until their knees brushed.

“Once the girls have settled in their rooms, I was rather hoping that I could see you in your office.” Hecate said softly, still only too aware of how keen some of the girls hearing was.

Ada pushed her mashed potatoes around the plate distractedly and Hecate watched, crestfallen. Something inside her seized up, tightening steadfastly; she so hated to see Ada forlorn, lost in thoughts that she could do nothing to dispel. She wished she could fix everything with a flick of her wrist, that she could dispel the darkness in the stones, could locate the founding stone – could make Ada smile once again. She felt cold with the shame of her inaction, her failure to do her duty, both to the school and to Ada.

“I’ve the nightly rounds to attend to tonight, Hecate,” Ada murmured eventually. “You know that.”

“I’ve asked Dimity to take over,” she said shyly, and whilst she’d asked the favour with the best of intentions she was forever afraid she’d overstepped her mark, that Ada would mistake her actions for pity or, worse still, doubt in her ability as Headmistress.

“Oh?” Ada let her fork rest on the plate’s edge and fixed Hecate with a questioning look. “That sounds,” she cocked her head to the side with a frown, “ominous.”

Ada’s eyes darkened for a moment, sad and ever so slightly fearful. Hecate jolted with the realisation of how her words had sounded, as if she was drawing Ada into the first throws of rejection. Hecate wanted to take her face in her hands and kiss her, wanted to tell her that she would never leave, that it was impossible to be anything but devoted to her.

Hecate instead settled for extending her little finger and laying it over Ada’s.

“It’s nothing bad, I swear. Just – trust me? It’s all I ask.”

After a moment, which Hecate felt had stretched on far longer than it should be allowed to, Ada’s hand moved incrementally, turned to link their little fingers together.

“Of course,” a ghost of a smile tugged at her lips and Hecate felt warmth burst within her, the sweetest of relief. “I’ll be there.”

…

It had taken very little effort to transfigure a claw foot bathtub onto the rug in front of Ada’s fireplace, even less to gather the appropriate ingredients for a relaxing soak and light the candles until the room was bathed in the soft flicker of firelight. Hecate swirled her fingers in the glistening water, closed her eyes as she inhaled the soft, sweet scent that drifted on the rising steam. It wasn’t a particularly complicated mixture of ingredients that she’d added, a few drops of lavender oil, a few more of chamomile, with lavender buds floating on the top. Though she never saw much point in such frivolity, she knew that Ada enjoyed it – loved the sensual feel of the almost too hot water, the softness of her skin when she got out.

“Well,” Ada said suddenly from behind her and Hecate immediately spun on her heel to face her, “I can’t say I was expecting this.”

Hecate smiled softly, eyes falling to the floor for a moment before looking up shyly through her lashes. She perched on the rim of the bath, raised her hand to cast the appropriate privacy spells before reaching out with her casting hand to beckon Ada forwards.

“I thought you needed to relax,” Hecate said in explanation. “It’s been a – trying week.”

Ada huffed a laugh as she drifted closer. “Indeed it has.”

Hecate reached out, caught her gently by the hand and coaxed her forwards until Ada was settled between her spread legs. She squeezed her knees together to draw Ada just that step further before gently smoothing her fingers up Ada’s arm. From there she trailed them slowly along her neck and then up to cup her face. She stroked her cheek with her thumb, shifting forwards a little.

“Let me look after you?” She murmured almost pleadingly.

“You always look after me,” Ada smiled, covering Hecate’s hand with her own as she pressed her cheek further into the touch.

Hecate rolled her eyes playfully and sighed in mock irritation.

“Would you stop being pedantic for just one minute please?” She poked Ada in the side with her free hand, grinned wild and proud as Ada laughed. “You need someone to pamper you for a little while.”

“Goodness, I didn’t think you knew the meaning of the word pamper.” Ada’s nose wrinkled in amusement as she teased her and Hecate felt her heart soar, saw the slightly worn but still bright version of her lover beneath the dusty layers of hardship. She clung tighter to Ada’s waist.

“Are you going to mock me all night, or am I allowed to start the evening I have planned for you?”

“You go right ahead my dear,” Ada leaned forwards to brush their lips together and it took every ounce of Hecate’s self-control to stop herself from deepening it, from basking in the carnal pleasure that Ada so readily gave. “I’m all yours.”

“ _Not helping_ ,” Hecate muttered under her breath as she drew away, and although Ada didn’t question it she saw the bright spark of amusement flicker across her eyes, a knowing smirk illuminating the dimples at her cheeks. She would have given anything in the entire universe to freeze time in that moment, to live in just those seconds of carefree joy. Instead she dropped to her knees, her face level with Ada’s hips which certainly didn’t help the heat racing through her, and looked up. Ada was watching her intently, face half cast in shadow, firelight dancing across her skin and Hecate was rendered breathless at the sight; overwhelmed as always by how beautiful Ada was and how lucky she was to be able to bathe in that resplendence.

“May I undress you?” Hecate asked, voice far lower than she’d anticipated – felt the blush of her embarrassment warm her already flushed face.

Ada, as always abated her insecurities, nodded her assent with a smile that sent waves of calm through her and immediately Hecate set to work. Slowly, she began to undress her; magic felt too fast, seemed to infer a hurriedness to her actions that didn’t hold true. She wanted Ada to feel revered, to let her know that she was worthy of the worship she so readily offered.

Ada had already slipped off her shoes at the door, so Hecate started with her skirt. She slowly ran her hands up the backs of Ada’s legs, following each contour through the billowing material. Her eyes didn’t leave Ada’s, kept checking: _Is this alright? Is this ok?_

Her silent questions were met with a soft sigh, with the fluttering of Ada’s eyelids as she relaxed, shoulders slackening as the tension unspooled visibly from her.

Blindly Hecate found the button at the back, slipped it from its loop and let the skirt fall gracefully to the floor, pooling at Ada’s feet. Ada reached down and stroked her hair, her face as she stepped out of the ring of material, her eyes warm and cheeks dappled pink in the firelight. Hecate was quite sure she would be happy to spend the evening just like this, dropped her forehead to rest against Ada’s still tight clad thigh and sighed her contentment. She breathed her in, deep and long, each second bolstering her further. The fingers in her hair smoothed downwards and Hecate suddenly shook herself from her stupor, knew that tonight was not about her. Instead she went to stand, taking Ada’s offered hand as she did so, and as she straightened up drew Ada’s palm to her mouth to press a soft kiss to its middle.

Their silence, so familiar, was broken by Ada’s murmur of adoration and the further softening of her limbs that Hecate could feel as she held onto her. Her fingers ran up along the ridge of Ada’s wrist, brushed up her forearm to her shoulder. Drawing out the moment she slid her hand along Ada’s shoulder to the back of her neck just briefly, toyed with her collar as she pressed another kiss to Ada’s cheek, one to her jaw. She felt the slow exhale of Ada’s breath play against her collarbone and grinned. Moving to grip the edge of Ada’s cardigan, Hecate slowly pushed it off her shoulders, waited for Ada to upturn her arms so that she could work it free before, with deliberate carelessness, tossing it over her shoulder.

Ada chuckled fondly, a note of surprise evident in the breathy sound, and Hecate kissed her once more, hands straying down to the bottom of Ada’s jumper, bunching the soft material in her fingers. She broke their kiss to the sound of Ada’s sigh before slowly pulling her jumper up. She laughed freely in amusement as she finished removing Ada’s jumper, fondly smoothing a hand through Ada’s now ruffled hair, strands sticking up oddly from the static. With a gentle press of her fingertip Hecate righted Ada’s slightly askew glasses before standing back to admire her handiwork, found herself absorbed in the sight of her lover in just her undergarments.

“You’re beautiful,” Hecate sighed, stroking her palm over Ada’s shoulder, down her chest and stomach before settling at her waist. Ada’s hum of content paired with the flutter of her eyes made Hecate shiver, her fingers playing restlessly with the band of her tights. “Sit,” she encouraged Ada towards the side of the bath before she knelt down once again. She began rolling down her tights, fingers occasionally straying to her skin, thumb smoothing down over the softness. She reached up to place Ada’s hands on her shoulders, lifted one foot then the other with care and then cast aside the tights to sit along with the over discarded clothes.

Looking up at her, knees framing her shoulders, Hecate could scarcely breathe at how beautiful she was. Sat in just her bra and knickers, flushed and soft and achingly beautiful, Ada was a sight to behold. Some part of her crowed with pride that Ada was _hers_ , that only she was privileged to this sight, that only she could softly unfold Ada into this state. A myriad of thoughts flew through her head, but she pushed them aside firmly - there would be time for that later. Instead she let her fingers wander, caught the elastic of her underwear and waited for a moment for Ada to lift her hips before easing them down her legs. Hecate pressed a kiss to the inside of Ada’s knee before pushing up onto her feet. Ada stood too, drawn to her, and Hecate could practically feel the magnetism between them, an electric undercurrent.

Hecate turned her, ran her fingertips down her spine until they reached the clasp of her bra, flicked thumb and forefinger over the links before drawing it down her shoulder. She pressed soft kisses to the red marks at her shoulder before wrapping her arms around her, strong and secure, kept Ada pressed up against her. She was gloriously naked but Hecate could feel none of the earlier tension that had been so visible in the taut lines of her rigid posture. Ada’s head fell back onto her shoulder and they stood there for a moment, locked in the warmth of their embrace.

Hecate nuzzled her nose against the juncture between Ada’s neck and shoulder, but then took charge, glanced across to the bath and waved her fingers at it. Immediately steam rose anew.

“Come on then,” Hecate whispered as she pressed a kiss to her throat before drawing away. “In you go.”

Ada chuckled but took Hecate’s hand and stepped into the bath. Hecate perched on the side, immediately moving her hands to Ada’s shoulders, bit her lip as Ada groaned and submersed herself fully into the hot water.

“This is glorious,” she sighed appreciatively, eyes slipping closed. She moaned as Hecate’s fingers slipped up through the silver of Ada’s hair to start a slow massage of her scalp, head tipping back into her hands.

“I’m glad you approve,” Hecate murmured, focusing on the slow press of her fingertips against Ada’s temples.

“Oh I more than approve,” Ada drawled contentedly, “but there is one thing that would make this better.”

Hecate was at immediate attention, fingers stilling. “Are you hungry? I could go and find you something to eat as you barely touched your dinner. Or I can –“

Ada tipped her head back, reached out with a warm, wet hand to link her fingers with Hecate.

“Won’t you join me my dear?”

Hecate answered with a snap of her fingers, her clothes immediately disappearing. She steadfastly ignored the heat in Ada’s eyes at the brashness of her actions, and instead focused on tying her hair into a high but loose bun atop of her head. Gesturing with her hand for Ada to move forward, Hecate slipped in behind her with a sigh, the hot water a welcome reprieve made all the better by the way Ada immediately sank back into her. She waited for Ada to get comfortable, which ended up being her head on her shoulder, face turned into the curve of her throat, before Hecate linked her arms around Ada’s middle and held her tight.

She kissed the crown of Ada’s head, pressed her nose to the silver that burned bright in the light of the fireplaces flames, and waited.

Their comforting silence held for almost ten minutes, only interrupted by the roll of the water as they shifted, by the quiet breaths that Ada took, exhales condensing against the sensitive skin of Hecate’s throat. Then, as the clock pressed against the far wall struck eight, Ada sighed with heavy purpose.

“I don’t know what to do,” Ada admitted in a quiet rush, as though she had been holding back her words before they leapt free of their own volition. “If I don’t find the stone before the council is alerted then they’ll shut us down. Though I can hardly blame them. I’ve let this school fall into the clasp of danger too many times to be forgiven.”

“You can’t be forgiven when it’s not your fault,” Hecate was quick to say, “nothing that happened is your fault, but rather an unfortunate accumulation of – mishaps.”

“But I’m Headmistress.” Hecate felt the brush of Ada’s eyelashes against her skin as her eyes slipped closed. “I should have prevented it. I should have been _better_.” Hecate winced at the bitterness of Ada’s voice, hated to hear the woman she loved rip herself to shreds with the claws of her own self loathing.

“Ada –“

“I allowed my sister to wreak havoc on my school, and then neglected to thoroughly check the grounds for the repercussions of her actions. For goodness sakes I left the Founding Stone out in the open, like the fool I am.”

The water rippled violently as Ada skimmed her hand across the surface in anger.

“You’re not a fool to trust people, Ada. Never think that. It’s just one of your many strengths.”

“Don’t lie to me, Hecate.” Resigned defeat sounded worse than anger to Hecate in that moment. “I know you’ve always found me to be troublingly naïve with my willingness to trust.”

Hecate frowned, leant her cheek against the top of Ada’s head.

“It troubles me, perhaps but I’m not lying when I say that it is one of your strengths. I commend you for your ability to see the good in everyone, it’s one of so many things that I,” Hecate cleared her throat, absently brushing her thumb in an arc over Ada’s hip, “I love about you.”

Ada pressed more closely into her, tucking her head beneath Hecate’s chin but still sighed much the same. When she spoke next, her voice trembled.

“Be that as it may, perhaps I should reconsider my outlook on things –“

“Don’t,” Hecate said firmly, “don’t let the consequences of others actions crush the goodness in you. Your ability to find the light in the darkest of situations is what makes you such a good headmistress, why the girls look up to you. You show that there is a reason for being a good person in a world that seems to say otherwise.”

Ada sniffled and kissed Hecate’s collarbone in way of thanks. Hecate knew that she hadn’t believed a word she’d said, and wanted to shake her for it, wanted her to realise how cherished she was by herself and so many others.

“It still doesn’t find the Founding Stone though, does it?”

“We’ll find it,” Hecate vowed, voice resonant with the firmness of her belief. “I swear to you. You’re not alone in this Ada, you never have been and you never will be.”

Ada let out a watery chuckle that she sniffed back.

“I’m too tired to cry,” Ada murmured into her shoulder, and Hecate wrapped her arms more firmly around her, drew her into her until there wasn’t a space where they didn’t touch.

“I’ll be here when you do,” Hecate murmured into her hair as she nuzzled against her.

“I know, darling. I do,” Ada lifted her head then, twisted slightly so that they were able to properly look at one another. Her head tipped to the side, the bottoms of hair wet and sticking to her chin. Hecate reached out without thought and thumbed them away. “What would I do without you?”

“You’d be the same. Brilliant. Wise. Persistent. You don’t need me to run this school with the same prowess that you hold today,” Hecate kept Ada’s chin between her fingers, and smirked. “You would however be less sexually satisfied.”

“Hmm, you are rather satisfying aren’t you?” Ada teased and Hecate moved her thumb upwards to smooth it in an arc across Ada’s bottom lip. “But know, that whilst I could perhaps go on just the same, I’d be hollow without you. You are – well, you are the soul of me, my darling.”

Hecate stilled her thumb as she felt tears prickle suddenly at the corners of her eyes.

“You know that I can’t put words together like you,” Hecate groused rather than reveal the sudden shift in her emotions. “You don’t play fair, Ada Cackle. I hope you know that.”

Ada smiled properly then, eyes creasing with the wideness of her smile, dimples furrowed into the soft flush of her cheeks.

Ada gestured at the bathtub, then at the rest of the room. “You say far more than you realise, Hecate. Even when you don’t say a word.”

Hecate just looked at her in rapt bewilderment before watching as Ada leant closer, their lips just a whisper away. For a moment they just breathed the same heady air before they came together slowly, a soft caress - an aching surrender. Hecate wound her arms around Ada’s neck as they shifted, Ada turning fully until she straddled Hecate’s legs, knees pressed up around her hips. Their kiss broke away in favour of Ada pressing her face into the warm safety of Hecate’s shoulder, arms clutched tight around Hecate’s waist.

Tangled together as they were, Hecate felt the last of the tension slip away from Ada’s body until she was boneless beneath her fingertips. She sighed in relief and knew that even if it was just for tonight – just for an hour – she was glad to have shared the heavy load that Ada held aloft. Wished only to be able to carry it alongside her for as long as it took to put things back to rights.

Turning her face so that her nose was pressed up against Ada’s temple, Hecate sighed and closed her eyes. For tonight – there would be peace.


End file.
